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Dear Desertnauts a few more info about the Rush Hours drive of tomorrow. As mentioned in the original post, we'll be driving with a double, alternative, objective: cover 60 km, and/or drive for maximum 2 hours (whichever comes first). With these goals in mind, this would normally be graded more as an Intermediate drive: nonetheless, the idea has been to offer a stimulating, challenging, itinerary, to members who are looking forward to reaching the next rank. Hence, concentration will have to be the utmost, driving skills practiced as close to perfection as possible, while, of course, the route will have to take into consideration that it is NOT an IM drive, but it should still provide the upgraded challenges that will allow us to reach our goals, in a speedy and safe manner. Please reach the meeting point so that all preparatory operations are completed just before 4PM, which will be the exact starting time of the drive. We will decide the radio channel just before departing. The convoy order will be the following: @Sunil Mathew as Second Lead @Naveen Raj at #3 @Santoso Marjuki as #4 @KAMALIO will take spot #5 @Looper will be at the Center @Gregory is going to be #7 @Vaibhav will be #8 @Fabien Monleau #9, and @varunmehndiratta will Sweep. See you tomorrow, punctual for a timely departure. Have a great night.

I have purchased this set of soft shackles with a breaking strength of approx 15000 kg from Amazon.com. Along with shipping costs it's much cheaper than the AOR ones and has so far served me well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07TDCHY2X?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title Also most of the failure of shackles is because the rope part of the shackle is exposed to a sharp metal (from the tow point). It's good to use a sleeve that will help prevent early damage. The ones in the link have an extra set of sleeves, whereas the AOR ones don't seem to have it.

Trip Report: Wow. Amazing. Exciting. I just seem to run out of words. My best Liwa trip ever, well executed and the best 9 cars for the job. The episode began on time everyone reached with a clear excitement on their face. We all met at Adnoc, filled our cars with petrol and few of us carried extra fuel which was not needed and that made an extra work for them to empty cans after exiting :). As we approached to the deflation point the area to enter I was frightened by the size and formation of the dunes around us. After deflating and quick safelty breafing we entered and played around for some time, and soon we all accepted the sand was very soft and we needed to push our stock cars to get through the terrain. Playing on these dunes was absolutely amazing, but we needed to be cautious as some of these dunes formations were very different than the ones we are used too, filled with technical dunes with pockets one after other. The best part of this area is when we have to drive down steep tall dunes and the cracking of breaking the sands with your tires was just like F16 is passing by. Climbing to the top of dunes is really challenging and we need to follow the step strategy through the technical dunes and once you reach to the top the dunes are breathe taking and plenty of huge rolling dunes around. As sun went up, 12noon I was finding difficulty in reading the dunes as the pockets started becoming camouflage and we decided to stop for lunch break after driving for a while. Zed’s biriyani, tikka – Santoso’s tea, Farooq’s meat arayes, arabic cofee after having all of these i felt like I am not going to drive anymore. With enough rest second half started, we saw a group exiting, we waved them and accelerated to the top again. We came across several challenges and the team stood up to take every challenge with a huge smile and enthusiasm. This area is not for everyone as both the formation of the dunes and some very soft patches makes it difficult to drive in this area. We even encountered the tire pressure raising by 4 PSI to make it difficult to climb, so we had to monitor our tire pressure constantly. @ShereenMK was at second lead and you did amazing job by correcting the path whenever i was struggling. @Alphin Aloor thanks for joining us all the way from dubai, @Naveen Raj@Farouq Owdeh@Santoso Marjuki@Mus_hus78@Zed@Josh T.thank you all and each one of you were my confident to plan this area. see you all next time.

When it comes to the kinetic recovery ropes, err on the side of higher is better. Unlike "flat towing ropes", the way these ropes work is that the strain in a hard tug especially for a car lodged in deep sand is translated through the rope and the elasticity of the rope better dissipates that energy when it rebounds. The last thing you want is for the rope to snap pulling the bumper, tow hook or just itself free. This has catastrophic results with these projectiles taking out windscreens and rear-screens. When towing a car, you wouldn't use a kinetic recovery rope, but a flat towing rope instead. This is because these ropes are more taut and better at towing than tugging. For our purposes, I would start with a high quality kinetic recovery rope (high breaking strain - AOR level preferably) and then as you progress to the higher levels, get a custom industrial strength tow rope cut for you at Dragon Mart for that one off occasion when you may need to tow somebody.

Good evening @Vanessa8580. Happy to join you on my first drive. 1) The car is Jeep XJ 1997 2) 1 year theoretical 😬 and 1 drive practically. 3) I have one and a half two point 🙃, one in the back and a small one in the front. Will check the front one before the drive

Rule of Thumb is 3-4 times the weight of the vehicle, so if you are pulling out an Xterra by example, your rope should have a breaking strength of at least 6000-8000kgs. You will see the AOR rope exceeds this by far. I have only heard of 1-2 AOR ropes breaking since i started offroading.

Hi @Rob S, I have got a set of 9m recovery rope 12ton and 2 Soft shackles of 16ton, never used as a backup. If you would like to consider it as your option you can contact me at 0528402096.

The AOR recovery rope is indeed a very popular rope. It will last a very long time, and is available in Speedex / Ace Regarding the soft shackles, i have been buying them through Amazon but i noticed the type i bought is not available anymore. They cost around 75AED per piece and had a 19T breaking strength. I preferred them over the AOR ones which cost double the price. These look very similar: Black Synthetic Soft Shackle Rope, Set of Two 1-2 Inch X 22 Inch (38,000lbs Breaking Strength) Soft Shackle Rope Synthetic with Protective Sleeve for Boating ATV Truck Jeep Recovery( Black, 2 Pack): Buy Online at Best Price in UAE - Amazon.ae I've seen ads about Gazelle Offroad which are selling ropes and soft shackles. Look pretty decent as well. (and available on Amazon)

Hey all, It was an amazing drive on Sunday. I learnt a lot about driving in the desert, it being my first time and all. @Foxtrot Oscarwas the best first marshal i could get. She took us step by step, from the sabkha to the technical dunes and the side sweeps, waiting patiently for us to understand our cars and how they perform offroad. Thank you @Foxtrot Oscarfor being patient when I couldn't climb over some dunes and also for your on-point instructions for self recovery. I was able to overcome most of my fears during the first drive itself but I believe its a long way to go A big shout out to @JeromeFJfor taking care of us from the end of the convoy. your commitment to come to every stuck/ refusal and help out is commendable. From guiding us at the deflation point to deflate, check our radios, resolve any queries we have, till the end of the drive to ensure everyone is safe and ready to go back on road, your support is highly appreciated. Looking forward to many drives with you being the sweeper The best part of the drive for me was the side sweeps and going over the tall dunes. Looking forward for the next newbie drive. They are full already 😕

Hi there, I can't wait to drive with yall as I want to have fun off-roading without modifying my vehicle. Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year. The car I have is a Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition, and it's a 2020 Do you have any prior off-road experience? Yes, I do have prior off-road experience. Been doing this for a few years now so I don't have an exact number to the dot but I'd say 50+ drives for sure. Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets. Yes the vehicle has front and rear hooks

@Vanessa8580 1) Isuzu Amigo 2)about 10 years of experience..have participated in other clubs/offroad groups 3)yes front and rear hooks are present

Hello @Vanessa8580 and thank you for organizing. My answers regarding your questions as follows: 1) I will be driving a Jeep Gladiator 2) I have always been an off-road enthusiast with strong understanding of the cars fundamentals and upgrades. I have completed >50 drives back in my home country where terrain is mainly crawling and snow. As for desert and dune driving I have done 9 drives out of which 4 drives were 2 years back and in a different car. In the past month I have done 5 drives by myself exploring Qudra with my new car. This ought summarize it 3) Yes, tow points exists on the car. Thanks and looking forward

Congratulations @Han

Congratulations @Han

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions Mandatory Safety Requirements Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Fewbie Plus and above Meeting time: 3:30 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HxCgwXds3QHjDSdR8 Action Plan: As most people start to crowd the streets to rush back home, after work or school, we'll be rushing through the dunes, with a drive plan designed tom cover at least 60 Km in 2 hours. Departure is scheduled exactly at 4:00 PM (meeting time will be from 3:30 PM onward, so that we'll be all ready to start precisely at 4PM). The drive will end, wherever we'll be (with exit points planned nearby our route), at exactly 6:00 PM, or upon covering 60Km, whichever comes first. The goal is to drive at a minimum average moving speed of 30Km/h. The terrain will entail as few technical areas as possible, and as many long range dunes as we can find, with a couple of sabkhas in between. Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 6:00 PM P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars maximum. RSVP will close on Friday - 9 AM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

Join us to explore Al Qudra Desert to find what's beyond Qudra lakes And learn the art of offroading in a versatile playground for your first off-road adventure. You will learn to self-drive your vehicle from experts having decades of off-roading experience in the UAE. This area offers a good mix of playable long set of dunes and broad ridges to practice your off-road skills slowly but surely. Drive is open for all 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD vehicles having 8-10 inches of ground clearance and (MANDATORY) Front and rear tow hooks (MANDATORY) This is an off-road drive for beginners where you'll drive and learn at your own pace: This is not a training session. This is not a 1:1 teaching class. This is not a Desert Driving Course. If you are interested in comprehensive 1:1 training sessions, please check Desert Driving Courses. Desert Driving Masterclass Desert Recovery Champion Advance Desert Driving Course First time with Carnity Off-road Club: Please share your vehicle details - Make, Model, Year. Do you have any prior off-road experience? Confirm your vehicle has front and rear tow hooks / eyelets. Learn More About: Carnity Off-road Club STRICTLY: For ABSOLUTE NEWBIE who are driving for the first time with Carnity. MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Important links to read: Off road Club Grading Structure V.3.0 Frequently Asked Questions - Click and scroll down. How do I join? Is my car fit for off-roading Many more FAQ's - ANSWERED. Mandatory Safety Requirements Essential Off-road Gear Ultimate Compressor Review Transfer your previous off-road experience Drive Details Level: Only for "ABSOLUTE NEWBIES" or first timer with Carnity Off-Road Club When: 13 February 2022, Sunday. Meeting time: 7:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://maps.google.com/?q=24.818832,55.255631 Type of Car: Any 4x4/4WD/SUV/AWD with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Tire deflator, pressure gauge and compressor, Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 11:00 AM LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 12 new members only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 5PM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list Latecomers or members who are not on the RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please cancel you RSVP if you cannot make it, so your spot can be taken by others. Please RSVP on below calendar

Hi all, I’ve been looking at getting recovery rope and soft shackles. understand carnity use Viking rope (cannot find anymore) or AOR red rope. What are recommendations for soft shackles, a lot on Amazon with various breaking strains and working weights.

Hi, happy to join the club and do my first off-road ride! 1) my car is Pajero 2010. 2) I have no prior offroading experience 3) my vehicle have front and back towpoints many thanks,

Hi Vanessa, 1. Car: Silver 2021 Jeep Wrangler Sport stock standard 2. Zero sand off-roading experience. Did some mild gravel/mountain off-roading a decade ago 3. Yes, standard front and rear tow-points. Regards, Riaan

Hi @Vanessa8580 Thanks for the confirmation - To answer your questions : 1. I will be driving Jeep 2021 Wrangler 2. I dont have any prior professional experience , have done couple of drives with friends exploring Qudra / Half Desert 3. Yes My car has have front and back tow-points... Looking forward to this Drive ! Regards Deepak

Well done guys !! Hats off !!

Good afternoon and thanks for signing up ! @munkybizness @Bruno Finel @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM @Harshal @Ahmed Wagdy @hugo@Bhaskar @Goh KP @Tom V @Amr Aydin @Vasja Zupan @Danish Mohammad And our waitlisted guys: @Azam the Adventurous @AlexM@FARAZ MOHAMMED @Antony Abraham @Adnan Halepota Let me start with providing a bit of information about this drive and what you can expect. This drive will basically consist out of 3 parts: 1) A Newbie Level Desert Drive in Mahafiz Area. (7:00 till about 11:00) 2) A 1 hour break nearby the Mleiha Archeological Centre. ( incl tyre inflation to +/- 25psi) https://goo.gl/maps/bEkkNkCjWNdbBHcy8 We will park a bit further but you can use this Archeological Centre its restrooms and perhaps hop inside for a quick coffee. 3) A Nice and Easy Wadi Drive in the nearby mountains. (approx 12:30 till 16:00) Some notes from my side: * Offroad Flag is mandatory for the Mahafiz Desert Driving Part. Once inflated at the Mleiha Archeological Centre, please remove it for the second part of the drive. * Bring your lunch and snacks and plenty of water. * We will be taking regular breaks for photoshoot and to take some rest. Driving in the wadi can be bumpy and tiring. * Never litter inside the desert or mountains. As this is a scenic drive, it is more suited to enjoying nature and making the best of the cooler season. So relax and let's take it easy. Hope to see you all coming weekend !

Thanks Frederic, I saw the gazelle rope but noted the breaking strain is only half that of the AOR. Is there any guidance on what’s good enough?

Hi Good After Noon @Vanessa8580 1.So this is my First ever off road drive,\ 2. I will be Bringing Mitsubishi Pajero 2014 4 Door. 3. It Seems to be inbuild in Pajero.

Thanks Anjeline and Jerome . It's was great event .

Sure @varunmehndiratta. Hope you can make it. Thanks

Congratulations @Han! Enjoy the new level 💨

Congrats @Han

Well deserved @Han !!

Thanks @Foxtrot Oscar @JeromeFJ it was fantastic being back on the sands after an 8 month break. Thanks for organizing & leading a nice, educational drive & I certainly enjoyed playing the 2nd lead!

Good morning @iremmeri Because it is your first drive with Carnity, you will have to complete an absolute newbie drive first before you can move on to regular newbie drives. Looking forward to meet you on Sunday ! @G300 @Amit Seth @Deepak 11 @abms2ktrooper @Gurcharan Mehta @iremmeri @Mohamed Khalifa Welcome to Carnity. As a basic introduction, kindly reply to the following: 1) which 4x4 are you bringing ? 2) Do you have prior offroading experience ? If so please clarify 3) Does your vehicle have front and back towpoints ? This is mandatory before being eligible to join. Tools Needed For your very first drive with us, we would like to ask you to bring a pressure gauge, deflator tool, and a compressor to inflate your tyres after the drive. (the one near the gas station is usually defective). The next tools you will be needing from second drive onwards, are a walkie-talkie, offroad flag, and a decent shovel. If by any chance you have these tools already you are of course welcome to bring them along on your first drive. @Ishaq Muhammad This is an Absolute newbie drive. You already completed 3 drives with us so I kindly request you to sign up for a newbie drive. I will remove your name from this drive.

Congratulations @Han

Congrats! Look forward to seeing you in the fewbie convoys soon!

Congratulations @Han well done

Very well deserved from what I saw yesterday @Han!

General Info This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Fewbie Plus and Above When: 12 February 2022, Saturday. Meeting time: 7 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/kqWjzQKLXiYdPzSY6 Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance. What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 11. AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL STARTING AND ENDING THE DRIVE AT THE SAME POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 drivers. RSVP will close on Friday - 5 PM. If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list. Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS. Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others. Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month. PLEASE RSVP ON THE BELOW CALENDAR

You can upload them in the Gallery https://carnity.com/gallery/category/1219-absolute-newbie-al-qudra-dubai-6-feb-2022

Congratulations @Han for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. FEWBIE Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Basic side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

If you install the Abu Dhabi police app you will receive these notifications as well

Thanks @Kailas for leading a successful drive yesterday afternoon. Everyone drove well, and most situations were dealt with by self-recovery which is all part of the valuable learning curve. @Siddharth gupta’s cresting (easy to do in possibly the longest truck on the road!) was the only situation that required recovery, and fortunately the issue with the transmission was fixable and the convoy could move on. It was good to meet some new faces and hopefully see you again soon. Please visit the gallery section for some pictures of the day 🌵📸

I was about to post my own drive report but @JeromeFJhas provided such a concise and detailed report that I think we should leave it there. @Vasja Zupan@Ameera AlMarzooqi @CEdric Rodrigues @Paul OR @Krishna R @shailendra singh vilkhu @Sam H Thank you all for arriving to the meeting point so promptly. This drive was all about the basics, I chose a route that gave you a flavour of just about everything you will meet whilst desert driving.(to varying degrees) We had tight technical dunes which required good control and finesse. I’m amazed none of you got too stuck in there! Well done. We crossed (up and over) fair sized ridges that demonstrated to you how much momentum you need to get up and over a dune. There were some steep drops which showed the need to cover your brake, and keep your wheels straight when you descend. Finally, we had the wide-open spaces of the long-range dunes that allowed you climb and turn , creating nice sweeping horseshoes as we did. I think this is the first time at this level I haven’t seen someone side stuck. Great Job. We did have some stucks, and we embraced every single one of them. I mean it when I say that you will learn more by getting yourself unstuck than anything else. Self recovery is an artform , and it is truly wonderful to see. Many many thanks to @JeromeFJfor his excellent support and to @soumyasaklanifor being the perfect second lead.